A Spark of Life (2013)
by Cloverfrost Locke
Summary: This is a story about four ordinary and extraordinary people, and the nature of the vastly different relationships between them, quietly oblivious to a backdrop of intergalactic war. Felony cries about a thing, Callia comforts her. Elris joins in with some immature yet witty banter. Kieran is there also. OC cast, Old Republic; A Spark of Life, 2013 version.
1. Falling

Sparks means a lot to me, not only insofar as it was enjoyable to write, but because it opened doors for me as a writer and as a human being. Yes, it's old, and yes, there are many errors that I'd like to change someday. But for now, I felt that the 2013 rewrite of the 2012 original should have its own space on the internet, just as it's earned a space in my life and in my heart. I hope you appreciate this drinking game fodder. Enjoy.

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Written by Cloverfrost Locke and Mai Lynn Bennet / Rated T for infrequent course language and adult themes.

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 _Star Wars_ and all related characters, elements and indicia are trademarks of and copyrighted by Lucasfilm.

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 **Part One—Falling**

There was a slap of a boot on wet concrete. The sound of laboured breathing could be heard above the distant rumble of traffic and the hiss of ventilation systems. It all added to the symphony of terror that was overlaid by a deafening silence. The silence that was more frightening than the screams she should have been hearing.

 _Someone's got to be following me. It can't be this easy._ The girl in question was short, pale, had delicate features with green eyes and dark hair. She had previously stolen a speeder in an attempt to escape her father's rage, but she had to abandon it soon after. She could only hope that he would send someone after her. The alternative was worse.

A soft chuckle rang through the alleyway, bounding off the towering walls, making it impossible to locate the source. It sounded close. Felony stopped in her tracks, panting. "Who's there?" This was probably the most stupid thing she could have said in hindsight, as the ones who ask are always the first to be killed. But fear numbed her mind, allowing only the first and simplest phrases through. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to swallow.

The figure at the top of one of the more low buildings smirked. This Sith was a weakling. A weakling's mind was easily fooled. Jumping from its place with the aid of the Force, Felony saw its cloak billowing in the wind as it descended. An azure length of concentrated light appeared next to it. It reached the ground and the hood lowered to reveal a woman, twenty or so, shining hazelnut eyes and chocolate hair.

Felony took one step back but activated her own lightsaber, a red glow joining the blue. "What do you want, Jedi?" Although weak and tired, her voice still held the same menacing edge that she so treasured.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I could ask _you_ the same thing." It was obvious this Sith was a rookie. She took a step towards her target.

Felony took another back, but it was in the wrong direction. Sanguinar could catch up with her any moment. She didn't know where she was running, she just knew it was away from here. She thought of begging the Jedi to let her go. She didn't understand the circumstances. Desperation gripped the girl's limbs. _Please, please._ "Let me pass," she managed.

There was another one of those ghostly chuckles. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, if I was to then you'd get away. Defeating my purpose."

This was a different Jedi to those she had met before, Felony realised. She was taking _amusement_ in her fear.

The Sith in Felony took over, replacing fear and desperation with a core emotion—anger. She began to hate the very existence of this pathetic Jedi.

 _She doesn't understand. How can she ever understand what I feel?_

"I said, _get out of my way!_ " she screeched, all traces of patience gone. She raised her lightsaber fiercely and brought it down upon the woman, who raised her own weapon. Blue met red in a flash of sparks. They struggled for a while before the Jedi spun around, catching the scarlet blade again, but this time above the girl as she had tried once again to strike. She pushed and her strength came out on top as Felony was forced to take her lightsaber away, take a few steps back and retake an offensive position, which in the circumstances wasn't very fitting.

The woman laughed at the girl's feeble attempts to fend her off. "The Sith have lost their touch. I've never met such a weakling." Flicking her wrist, she yanked Felony's lightsaber out of her grasp, deactivating it instantly. She flung the girl back into the wall opposite with the Force, knocking her unconscious.

A breeze stirred in the alleyway as the Jedi caught her breath before crouching down next to Felony and securing her wrists in cuffs. She moved away a bit of the hair to get a better look at her face. She didn't look any older than fifteen, sixteen perhaps. Still a padawan by Jedi standards. Pity softened the woman's eyes a little.

Lifting her communicator to her lips, Callia called for backup to transport the young Sith back to Courascant.

—

Felony blinked, hatred making her gaze sparkle. Her breathing was heavy, like a spooked horse's. She was scared and she struggled to hide it. It was a weakness of the mind.

She glanced around at the assortment of Jedi around her. Most humanoid, but some were of species she had never seen. She just was thankful that this wasn't the famed 'Jedi High Council'. Then she really _would_ die of shame. Her eyes darted to the wall, the woman with the brown hair leaning against it casually, watching her with interest.

"Sanguinar Serano is your master, correct?" a voice sounded near the front of the gathering.

Felony kept her voice steady. "Yes." It was obvious to Callia that she was trying desperately not to reveal anything more than she was already being forced to.

The man nodded. "How old were you when you were apprenticed?"

Felony was silent. To her credit, she didn't flinch away from his gaze.

'Master Den'an is talking to you, girl!" one of the other members told her harshly, as if she hadn't heard. This made her blood boil.

"If you wish to get information out of me, then at least talk to me as an adult, not as an ignorant _child_." she hissed.

The second Jedi shook his head. The first one held her attention. "And yet, a child you still are."

Felony hadn't been expecting this remark and took a sharp intake of breath. Callia noted this with vague amusement.

"Just answer the question," the first said impatiently. They had been trying to get answers out of Felony for the past three hours, and the girl was being surprisingly stubborn and _very_ uncooperative.

Felony lifted her head to the audience. They leaned forward expectantly, eager for a straightforward answer so they could all go home. "I chose to join. I was fifteen." she said simply.

"Not recruited?" Master Den'an noted. "How did you _choose_ to join if you weren't recruited, then?"

She paused. _You don't have to tell them anything. They're Jedi, it's not like they'll torture you. It would be a blessing if they did…_ "What if I don't want to answer these questions?" she asked finally, testing them to see how far she could go before they gave up.

"Because, Ms K'tani," there was a voice from behind. Felony turned to look at Callia. She advanced out of the shadows, arms folded. "None of us are leaving until you answer every single one. And trust me - this floor is not the most comfortable of beds. So start singing, Princess." Felony glared at her in resentment.

 _They don't need to know that I'm my master's daughter. Not yet. They can find that out for themselves if they're so bloody interested._ "I attracted attention. Made a fuss. One stunt makes all the difference." She made it clear that she was _not_ going into any further detail. No one pursued it for fear of missing an extra few hours' sleep.

"So you were fifteen," Callia interrupted the silence, circling Felony, arms still folded. The girl followed the Jedi with her gaze. "Young, your whole life ahead of you. And yet, when someone comes up and offers you a place on the Dark Side, you accept right away. What was so… appealing about the Dark Side that made you go without complaint?" Her questions scorched the air, certain there was something more at play here. _A bit of physical persuasion, I should think._

Felony considered this before formulating an answer she was happy with. "Respect," she said simply. Callia raised an eyebrow. "No one understood the real me, so I sought those that did. Is that so hard to believe?"

Callia stopped circling. She stood eye-to-eye with Felony, confident in the fact that she was securely held. She was an inch taller than the girl, and Felony had to tip her head a little to hold the Jedi's gaze. "If I heard that from any normal sixteen-year-old, then I'd believe them. But you're no ordinary sixteen-year-old, are you, Ms K'tani?"

Felony lunged at the woman with all her strength, and Callia stepped back calmly, out of reach. Felony slumped in the grasp of the chains, heart racing. A susurration could be heard from the surrounding audience.

"That's enough, Callia." a firm voice told her. "We'll leave this case for the moment." There was a collective sigh of relief. The woman stepped back again, obeying the older Jedi's command. "Guards, take her to the holding cells. We shall reconvene in the morning." Two clones closed around on Felony's upper arms, dragging her away from the room. Callia stared after her, shaking her head.

The clones received little struggle from Felony on the way there. She would give the occasional protesting squirm, but they held her tight. Cold seeped into her bones as soon as they led her to the cell. One of them stayed inside with her whilst the other left. She sighed and laid down. She closed her eyes and wished for sleep. She knew it wouldn't come, but the back of her eyelids was a better sight than the cell interior.

—

Callia stood on the far side of the room, studying the girl as she slept. Something didn't add up. How could one so young become so corrupt? The gentle rise and fall of her flanks told of a thinking and feeling being, her face no longer distorted by hatred, but a peaceful expression that, it seemed, only sleep could give the girl. She was surprised to see her lips move without her expression changing. "What do you want, Jedi?"

Callia snorted. "Trying to create a sense of déjà vu, are we, Princess?"

Felony growled. "Why don't you leave me in peace?"

"Peace? I would hardly call this _peace_."

Felony rolled over, ignoring her remark. "Go away." _This Jedi is starting to get on my nerves._

Callia sighed. "Look, Princess-"

"And stop calling me that!"

"-I know you won't open up to them, but you can talk to me. I was a girl just like you once, well, not really like you, but… besides, if you talk to me, we don't have to go through what happened last night again. The choice is yours."

Felony pulled herself into a tighter ball. _What's the point? Sanguinar wants me dead. I can't find another master to continue my training and I certainly can't continue on my own._ "I'm not going to talk, so why don't you just kill me already? Get it over and done with."

Callia shook her head with the girl's attitude. "Killing you will do us no good, and I think you know that. I'll say it again, Princess—either you tell me or everyone, and they _will_ get the information they want. They always do."

Felony rolled her eyes in annoyance. "That's right. The Jedi always get what they want." she muttered bitterly. Despite herself, she sighed and murmured, "What do you want to know?"

Callia smiled, satisfied. "You said he found you. Made a big fuss. What made you so special, out of all the others that could have been chosen, it was you."

Felony wondered if her numb mind could come up with an acceptable story quick enough. Instead, she went for the vague approach. "I revealed myself for who I was. Sanguinar saw a darkness in me that no one else understood. I was an outcast for it, until he gave me a place by his side. He's the first one to ever encourage me as I truly am." That seemed good enough.

The woman paused, wondering how to respond to this without breaking whatever spell she had apparently lain on the stubborn teenager to get her to speak. "You have a way with the Force, as do many. But those with the gift, however faint, are taken in and trained. How did we miss you?"

Felony remained silent. _Because I was born and raised in an Imperial household, perhaps?_ She left the silence there, hanging in the air as Callia waited for a response. When she got none, she sighed. "I only want to help you, Felony. I don't want innocent blood on my hands. If you agree to work with us, you could be a powerful asset to the Jedi."

 _Not if I am dead._ Felony ignored her for a few moments more before she heard the knight sigh and her footsteps echoed all the way out. The door slid closed behind her. Felony jumped up off the bed with sudden ferocity and banged on the door, her face close to the window. "You don't own me, you hear, Jedi?" she shouted after Callia. After she had seen the woman round the corner and out of sight, she walked away from the door with gritted teeth and sat down on the bed, putting her head in her hands. She merely gave a second glance to the clone who stood ever to attention at the side wall, waiting to detain her if she tried to escape.

—

As Callia watched the guards drag the girl into the room the next day, she noticed something was off almost immediately. It took her a couple of seconds to realize what. The girl had deep red scars running up and down her arms and face, scars that had definitely not been there before. They were badly cut as if a very blunt blade had been used, but more pressure had been applied. She wondered with astonishment where the hell they could have come from. It was quite obvious that it had sparked interest throughout the gathering. The girl's head was hanging, presumably in shame or exhaustion.

Before anyone had a chance to ask, the droid on her left stepped forward. "I'm sorry, sir," he addressed Master Den'an, who seemed to be the leader of the operation. "I tried to stop her. I confiscated the weapon before she could do any real damage." He walked forward a few paces and handed the Jedi a glint of silver with a white handle. Dried blood stained the edge of the blade. The droid stepped back and Den'an looked at the thing he had been given with puzzlement. Others leaned forward to try and make something of it. He held it up to the light.

"It's a butterknife," was his conclusion. He glanced past the cutlery in his hand to the girl. "You tried to kill yourself with a butterknife." It was more of a statement than a question, as if he was trying to clear it up for himself. Realisation of Felony's desperation hit Callia like a brick wall.

Felony slowly raised her head. Her gaze was burning with more venom than ever before, daring the company to speak. The deepest scar ran down her left eyelid and onto her cheek. It was quite prominent. Blood made her eyelashes stick together. Callia was struck by firstly her gaze, then secondly how miraculous that the guard had got to her before her determination had gotten the better of her and she really _had_ done some damage.

"I wish to address the gathering," Felony said in a moderate tone. Den'an raised an eyebrow but nodded. "The _kindness_ you have shown to me in the past few hours is not welcome. Kill me now, or I _swear_ I will do it myself."

A startled murmur ran though the ranks. Den'an blinked calmly. "This gathering does not issue death sentences."

"Surely you must know that?" one female Jedi added with shock.

"Then you are as weak as the Empire says." Felony growled.

One member stood up. "That does not show weakness, young Miss K'tani. It shows heart." There was a general agreement before he sat down again.

"My master has taught me it is a weakness. And why should I believe you over him? You're the _enemy_." she spat. Den'an sighed. He was beginning to dislike this case immensely. He decided to press on with the questioning.

"When Knight Corday intercepted you, you were running. What we want to know is why. And what from." The rest of them nodded, and Callia straightened up, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"I don't have to answer anything," Felony mumbled, if only to herself, staring once more at the ground. Only, what was there left to lose? She kept her mouth closed in any case, and the gathering knew better than to prompt her on. They watched every small move she made, twenty pairs of eyes monitoring every breath. Callia sighed inwardly. _Come on, Princess._

Den'an sighed also, but far more audibly. The rest relaxed, as if broken from some trance. "You have much to learn. You need more training before you are ready to face Sanguinar."

The words shocked the assembly. The plan was practically spelled out for them. _Use the girl to defeat her own master. And then who knows what she will achieve?_ "It will be hard." he caught Felony's eye and jerked his head up as a gesture for her to do the same. Her chin rose ever so slightly. "But you will do it." He was sick of this girl and wanted to get her case over and done with. "And your master will be young Callia here."

Callia had been watching the exchange with interest. It took a few moments for this latest input of the one-way conversation to register. She turned to him. "Hold on. Did you just say… for _me_ to be _her_ master?" Hopefully she had heard him wrong. Yes, that was it.

"My god you can't be serious," Felony shook her head incredulously.

Den'an regarded Callia with an air of amusement. "No, you heard me correctly, Master Corday." he glanced at Felony. "And you have no say in this. Not only are you a prisoner of the Republic but you are also a waste of my time." he said dismissively. He nodded to the clones to release her.

As soon as she was freed from the cold metal, Felony rubbed her wrists and glanced fugitively at the door for what was less than a micro-second. Callia took a warning step forward. She could see the girl's plan forming in her eyes, and she didn't like it.

Felony shot a look to Callia, and sprinted to the exit.

"Stop her!" Den'an shouted at the stunned clones. After Callia rocketed out of the room, clones hard on her heels, he sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples. He would be glad if he never saw that girl again.

—

And Felony didn't stop. She just kept on running as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran until a stich formed in her side. She heard the shouts of the now Jedi Master, but this only drove her faster. Around corners and up stairs until she encountered a particularly attentive clone who knew something was up. "Come here, missy," He picked her up firmly around the waist, light as a feather to him.

"Let go of me!" Felony struggled in his grasp, and managed to wriggle out and drop to the ground. She sprinted to the next hallway, then down a corridor to a balcony that looked over the never-ending city. She stopped abruptly at the railing, her torso leaning over. She glanced behind her and knew that Callia was in hot pursuit.

Without any further thought, she clambered onto the railing and gripped the metal bars. Looking down, the drop was sickeningly high. Wisps of cloud hung in the air around the building. She dangled her legs over the edge and slid sideways down the bars until her fingers were level with the floor.

Callia was directed by another clone to the balcony, where she could see the fingertips of her new padawan. _Oh no._ She ran with horror to the girl.

Felony looked up to see Callia crouching at the edge of the floor, reaching down with one hand, desperately trying to grab her arm. She stopped as soon as she saw the look in the younger girl's eyes. Her next words gripped her with a feeling she had never encountered before.

"Do you think I can do it?" Felony whispered, the truth of her own decision reaching her. She looked down once more and her fingers slipped further down the rail. She looked up with renewed horror. "I'm scared." she admitted.

Callia took pity on the girl instantly. She was cold on the outside, but inside she was just that. Scared. "Come on, Princess. Let's bring you back up." she told her softly. If worse came to worse, she could always use the Force to save her, but in that way the padawan could just try again. She had to convince her that this wasn't the right course of action.

A sharp wind whipped at Felony's feet. She hung on tighter and squeezed her eyes shut. Would it hurt, just to let go? Would she feel anything when she hit the ground? Or would the fall kill her before she even got that far? Her fingers screamed at her in pain, having to hold up all of her weight.

Her fingers were sliding. She had changed her mind. This wasn't right. Should she give up this easily? At the wrong moment, the plan she wanted to reverse was now falling into place.

At any moment now, she wouldn't have any grip on the bars, and she would let go, and she would receive peace…

She felt a hand grip her wrist.

"Hold on, Princess, I'm bringing you back," was the voice of Callia above her. Felony was slowly raised from the clutches of the wind. She pulled on the metal with one hand whilst Callia raised the other. She hovered over the railing before collapsing on the other side, breathing heavily. Callia crouched by her. "Are you all right?"

Felony moved away from her, and tried to get to her feet. She stumbled before eventually standing up on shaky legs. She walked past Callia, back into the building, looking liable to fall over at any moment. "Show me to my room," she said quietly.

Callia turned to the clones, also trying to catch her breath. "Make sure there are no sharp objects when she gets there, all right?" she commanded before going off after her padawan.

As she watched, two more clones came up behind the girl and cuffed her before taking her arms once more. They seemed to receive no resistance this time, the girl was so shaken.

Felony swallowed. What had she just tried to do? What had she almost done? She decided then and there that she wouldn't think about it anymore, and she hoped Callia wouldn't bring it up anytime soon.

Callia took Felony to her room, which was right next to her own, in complete silence. She understood Felony was unlikely to want to talk about it, so she merely left her in the room on her own, after showing her how to contact her new master if needed, and of course a quick inspection of the room's suitability. With relief she found no cutlery whatsoever, and the doors to the balcony were deadlocked.

She reached the door and glanced back one last time to the girl, who was sitting on the bed with her arms around her middle, head down. Callia shook her head.

 _What am I going to do with you?_


	2. Catching

**Part Two—Catching**

By the next day, Felony had returned to her usual self. No comments of yesterday's events passed between the pair, but Callia could sense that the girl had thought about it a lot overnight.

When she walked in at nine o'clock, Felony was sitting in the middle of the floor and reciting something. So Callia's fascination, it seemed to be the Sith Code.

"The Force shall set me free." the girl finished. She didn't feel very _free_ at the moment, that was for sure. Put under house arrest for her own safety.

"And _that_ will be your downfall." Callia told her simply before lounging on a chair and tossing an apple up and down.

Felony jumped as if she hadn't heard the Jedi Master come in. She glanced at the woman with eyes that burned with green fire. "Don't think you'll be able to convert me, Jedi," she said stubbornly. "I was brought up on the Dark Side. Remember that." She raised her head snobbishly and didn't realise she had said anything wrong until:

"I thought you said you were fifteen." Callia was suddenly sceptical.

Felony's blood ran cold. She had slipped up. "Well, I did. I just think that I was dark from the start, that's all." her voice wavered the tiniest bit. She would have done all right if it weren't for that.

Callia leaned forward. "What aren't you telling me?"

The young Sith looked away.

"Look, Princess, if Sanguinar is stealing children from their homes and raising them as his own twisted dark offspring then—"

"Just drop it, Jedi." said Felony, quietly. She was tired of questions. Tired of having to give answers.

She was relieved when she saw the woman lean back in her chair, leaving the subject for that moment.

—

Several days passed. Felony was hardly eating. Callia would come in every morning, her expression becoming more and more worried as time went by. The girl just sat on her bed, not talking to anyone. The scars on her arms and face slowly began to heal, save the deepest one down her left eyelid.

Callia sighed, almost a week after she had been named the girl's master. She crouched beside the bed and took Felony's hand. It was cold as ice. "Felony… tell me, what do you want?" she tried desperately to get her to open up.

Felony stared into the distance, almost looking as if she hadn't noticed the Jedi's arrival. _What sort of a question is that?_ She blinked. "I… don't know what I want." she admitted.

 _Well, this is getting us nowhere._ Callia sighed again and patted the girl's hand. "Well, I'll come back tomorrow. Maybe you'll feel better then. I have something I want to show you." This seemed to spark Felony's interest. Callia smiled, the first genuine one she had been given.

Felony didn't return it, and simply watched her as she walked out of the room, smile still on her face, a plan forming in her mind.

—

"This," Callia held out a cylindrical object for her padawan. "Is a training saber." she held it back as Felony reached out for it. "Nuh-uh-uh. It can't kill you, but it can still injure. So I want you to promise me that you won't do anything to hurt yourself, okay?"

Felony scowled at her. _I'm being treated as if I'm five. Why should she care so much? It's my decision, it's my life. Not hers._

When Callia received no response, she prompted her. "Okay?" she repeated, holding out a hand for her to shake. Felony's eyes flicked from her, to the lightsaber, to her hand, before eventually shaking. "Thank you," she said, barely audibly.

Callia smiled. "Good girl." _Progress, perhaps?_ Maybe the lightsaber had been the right thing to do. She grinned mischievously, giving the saber to Felony and now reaching for her own, clipped to her belt. Felony looked at her with curiosity. _What does she think she's doing now?_

The woman activated the blade with a familiar _swoosh_ to catch the younger girl's attention, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Shall we test that new weapon of yours, Princess?"

Felony activated her own lightsaber, feeling quite strange as she held a blue blade in her hands. That was _definitely_ unnatural. She gave it a few experimental twirls before pointing it towards her opponent. Her spirits rose along with her new weapon as she took a swing towards Callia. The Jedi raised her own and the two met in a blue cross.

They battled for a while across the room, Callia noting many things that she would get around to correcting later. This time she wasn't facing an opponent to win; she was calculating Felony's every move to see where the girl could improve. She backed her into a corner and somehow the table got knocked over.

Fruit flew all over the floor from the bowl. Callia laughed with delight, dancing over the rolling obstacles. She even heard a few squeals of laughter from her padawan, which made her even happier.

Callia sniggered as Felony crashed to the floor after slipping. She aimed her weapon at the girl, the tip of it mere inches away from her neck. "Still as inexperienced as before, I see."

Felony smiled but said nothing, moving the lightsaber away with her own. The woman deactivated the blade and offered a hand to help her up. Instead of taking her master's hand, she pulled the hilt from Callia's belt and pushed her own saber under her opponent's chin.

Callia laughed, but it sounded slightly forced. Her eyes gave away the worry she was feeling all of a sudden. "Come on, Princess, give me my lightsaber back and get up. You won't learn anything from lying there."

Felony slowly rose to her feet, taking care to keep the blade safely in between the two. She said nothing. _I wonder what she'll do._

"Felony, come on, give it back," Callia pleaded, anxiety breaking through her normally calm façade.

The girl felt a little ashamed at this. Callia was genuinely concerned for her, and here she was, teasing her. She deactivated her own blade and tossed the real lightsaber to its owner.

Callia sighed with relief and caught the hilt. After a moments collection, she turned on Felony. "You touch my saber again, Princess, and you'll find yourself in a far worse situation than just _house arrest_."

Felony rolled her eyes before the Jedi pulled out her communicator from her belt pocket. Sighing, she put it away before telling the girl, "I have to go to the docking bay to meet someone. I'm locking the door and leaving you here. _Be good_."

Felony rolled her eyes and sat down on a chair, arms crossed. "Yes, _mother_."

—

Callia walked down to the docking bay, anxious to collect her old friend and return to Felony's room before the girl could get into any more trouble. She smiled as she threw her arms around the man who was walking towards her. He had dirty blonde hair and a badly shaven beard, with beige Jedi robes. "Elris! How's life been on the other side of the galaxy?"

Elris laughed. It was good to see her again, after so many months. "Very well, very well!" his light blue eyes sparkled.

"Good!" Callia clapped him on the shoulder. "So, how's being a master going for you, then?" She almost giggled at the thought of him having his own apprentice. Whoever it was would probably drive the man insane after a while.

To her surprise, he grinned. "Brilliantly, my friend." he leaned in. "Although he can be a bit of a handful at times." he sighed with annoyance. _This sounds like the old Elris,_ Callia thought. He continued in a brighter tone, "I hear you've got your own padawan now! What's she like?"

The pair began to walk back to her room together. Callia snorted. "You think you've got problems. She's ex-Sith."

Elris spluttered with surprise. "No, you can't be serious. They gave an ex-Sith to you? Good luck with that."

"Wow, thanks for the support, Elris." Callia smirked before continuing on in a more serious tone, "We found her just over a week ago, running from her own master. Why, we don't know."

"Just because she's been exiled from the enemy doesn't make her one of ours." Elris reminded her. "Who gave the orders?"

"Den'an."

"Oh, that's just _typical_ isn't it,"

Callia didn't comment further. She then noticed the boy who had been following them a few metres behind. "Who's this?" she asked, but already knowing that it would be Elris' apprentice.

The man turned around with a smile, motioning for the boy to come to him. "Callia, I'd like you to meet my padawan, Kieran N'dour. Kieran, this is Callia Corday. We were padawans together." he said, pride edging is voice.

The boy had blue eyes like his master, but with brown hair. He was the tiniest bit shorter than Callia. She held out a hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Kieran." she turned to Elris. "Promising?"

He nodded. "Very. Yours?"

"Not really. Age?"

"Fifteen. And you?"

"Sixteen. Come on, I'll get her to say hello."

Elris cast a sceptical glance at her. "This'll be interesting,"

When they reached Felony's room, Callia banged on the door with a fist. "Oi! Princess! We're going to the cantina. Get out here and come meet my friend."

Felony heard her master's shouts from the other side of the door. She rolled her eyes as it opened to reveal the woman and two figures further behind. "Back already, mother dearest?" she gave a look to Callia before standing up and barging past her into the hallway.

"Elris, Kieran, this is my padawan. Felony K'tani. Princess," Callia turned to the girl. " _Be nice_."

"Wouldn't want to hurt the poor Jedi," Felony folded her arms and gave a jerky nod to them both. "Pleasure."

Each gave a far more respectful nod to her, and Kieran replied, "Likewise."

Felony smirked. _You think you can win me over, introducing me to your pals? You think you'll make me want to fit in with the group, don't you? Well, I'll tell you something, Corday. I like to be on the outside. It's where I do best._ She walked on ahead of the group. Kieran gave a glance to his master, who nodded, so he then ran off after the girl.

"So, a Sith, hey?" he passed off nonchalantly to her.

Felony gritted her teeth ever so politely. "If you're trying to make conversation, then you're wasting your time."

He didn't know what to say to this. He glanced back at his master, who was walking with Callia, listening to the conversation. Elris made encouraging gestures to tell him to pursue polite exchange.

Felony looked on straight ahead, ignoring Kieran's squirms.

"Erm," was about as far as he got.

Elris looked at amusement to Callia. "Is she always like this?"

The woman sighed. "Sadly. I thought I was getting through to her, but she can't seem to shake the habit. I thought after I saved her life she might at least give me _some_ recognition." she shook her head.

"Did you?" Elris questioned, interested. "From whom?"

"From herself."

He looked at her in alarm. "Did your padawan…?"

"When we first brought her here, she seemed a bit… _reluctant_ to live. I think the only reason I got stuck with her was because she responds to me. Not often in a particularly _good_ way, but you know… sometimes."

"So she trusts you?"

Callia snorted. "I hardly ever understand that girl, Elris. How am I supposed to know something like that? It's only been a week, don't forget."

They carried on for a few steps in silence, padawans at the front, masters trailing behind, then a pair of troopers at the back, on standby. "Sounds like it's going to be an interesting few years for you, then." Elris finally commented.

—

She sensed a flood of annoyance coming from the girl. "What's up, Princess?"

Felony scoffed indignantly. That damn padawan, that's what's up. "N'dour. He's so _irritating_." It was true. He was always hanging around, taking his master's advice to heart. It was if a left over command was still being processed, and since it hadn't been overridden, Kieran persisted in trying to talk to her. He didn't exactly have great conversational skills, anyway.

"What's N'dour got to do with the price of fish?" Callia raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of her drink.

"Nothing, I just…" Felony sighed, frustrated.

Callia saw her opportunity. She put on a smirk and looked knowingly at her padawan. "Irritating… right."

She had formulated a brilliant plan the night previous. Kieran was a dedicated padawan, if a bit quiet. He was diligent in his studies and showed promise with the Force as well as combat skills. He _was_ a bit ditzy at times, but, as she reasoned, wasn't everyone a bit like that? Plus, it didn't matter if it didn't work. She just had to make Felony _think_ that it worked.

"Hmm?" Felony wasn't really listening. Callia frowned. She had to grab her attention.

"Oh, nothing!" she exclaimed, rather too loudly for Felony's reaction. The girl glanced up from a data pad, a confused expression on her face. Callia took a little too long to bask in her victory and Felony looked at her as if to say, _Well go on then. Spit it out._ "It's just so obvious how much more he is to you than _irritating_."

Felony blinked. _What's she going on about?_ "What are you suggesting, Callia Corday?" Callia's smile told her something was up, and she wasn't going to like it.

"When you're a Jedi, you tend to see past the direct feelings and see into the… subconscious." Callia gave her a knowing nod.

Felony spluttered on her drink. "The what?"

"Oh, come now, Princess. Surely I don't have to explain the meaning of _subconscious_ now, do I?"

Felony stared at her. Realisation dawned on her that this woman was more stupid than she thought. "Oh my god. You think I'm in love, don't you?"

Callia leaned back, triumphant.

Felony sighed and leaned forward across the table. Hopefully this would be easy to sort out. "Callia," she began. "You're talking about the boy who talks to me as if I'm a droid whose only function is small talk. He also appears to think that I don't have any feelings because I'm a Sith, but frankly, it should be the other way around."

Callia smiled, unfazed. "So you've hidden away your passion for him. Good, good, that's what I like to see. I can keep a secret, you know." she winked.

The girl didn't know how to respond to this. _All right. Let her think what she wants. Let her have her fun._

 _This isn't working._ Callia frowned inwardly. She'd have to get Elris involved in this.

—

They were at the cantina again. Felony sat across from Kieran, who was desperately trying to tell her about his new kicking techniques. It was a failing effort because he had to explain it using only words and not actions. She didn't understand nor was she interested in what he had to say. She glared at Callia, who was sitting at a table not too far away with Elris. _See what I have to put up with?_

Callia simply rolled her eyes and turned to Elris. They were too far away to hear exactly what the padawan was saying, but she smiled all the same. "Hey, Elris," she hissed. "Look at his eyes." she motioned to Kieran. Elris blinked and leaned over, looking to his apprentice.

"Erm, yes? What about them?"

"Oh, come now, Quillan. Surely you can see it?"

He tried again. Still he saw a perfectly normal boy. He was getting a bit animated now, his leg moving under the table as if to demonstrate his vivid explanations. Felony smiled forcefully before shuffling to the side of her chair, trying to avoid being hit.

"Erm, see what? Am I supposed to be seeing something interesting?" he didn't want to be impolite if what he was looking at was of immense importance to Callia.

Callia shook her head. "His eyes, you fool, his eyes!" she hissed again, poking him. "He's in love, can't you tell?"

This was new information to Elris. "Good grief. Is he?"

Callia stared at him. Realisation dawned on her that this man was more stupid than she thought.

"Of course he is," she said with finality.

Elris' expression changed from one of complete bewilderment to one of childish humour. "So, what's the plan? Do we leave them, or do we slowly, slyly push them together?"

Callia pretended to consider this. "Well, the sensible thing would be to leave them. But since when was I ever sensible?"

"Do you want the kind answer or the truthful answer?" he mused with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Slowly and slyly it is then." Callia concluded with an immature grin.

—

"He's your father," Callia repeated in a level voice.

Felony swallowed. "Yes."

Her master was confused. "Why didn't you tell us that before? It's not like it's a big secret or anything! Not terribly important."

There was a sigh from the young girl. _Maybe I did it because I wanted to distance myself from you._ "If you'd known who I was, then you'd know what I'd done. I'm only telling _you_ this. Look up records of Sanguinar's children."

Callia did so on the system. "Doesn't have you here. Just has someone called Thorn."

"Look closer."

"'Past apprentice, killed by next in line to the Serano legacy, his sister, unknown identity.'" Callia looked up. "That was _you_? You killed your own brother so you could be apprentice?" There was surprise to her tone, but nothing more. Things happened. And they happened more often in the Empire. "So you're Felony _Serano_ , not Felony K'tani."

The girl sighed. 'At first I didn't want you to know, just because it was another thing I could keep to myself. But then I didn't want anyone to find out, because they'd tell you… and I thought… I thought I'd lose the respect you had for me." her voice wavered with emotion.

"Oh, Felony," Callia said gently. "It doesn't matter what you did, as long as you've changed, right?"

Despite herself, Callia wrapped her arms around the girl. She felt her shaking o her shoulder as she began to sob.

She smiled. "Shh," she comforted her. "It's okay. It's all right."

"What must you think of me?" Felony whispered through tears.

"I _must_ think of you as my ever faithful padawan who will dutifully follow me into danger. What I actually think of you is a lost girl in need of a bit more love and attention. A friend."

This made Felony smile. _A friend. A real, genuine friend._

—

Felony flopped down on her master's bed. "Callia, why do I always feel so rubbish when Kieran's around? It's like his dullness tricks me into feeling sorry for him or something."

Callia shrugged. "It's a teenage thing. You'll get over it. Hopefully." she added under her breath.

Her padawan rolled her eyes. "I'm not new to it. It's not like you're much older than that. What are you… twenty-something?'

"Twenty-four, actually." Callia replied coldly. "And trust me. The hormones are _much_ worse at sixteen."

Felony ignored her remark. "Twenty-four, hey?" she smirked. "I suppose you should be thinking of settling down, finding yourself a guy," she patted Callia's shoulder. _If you're going to mess with me, I'm going to mess with you._ "What about Elris? He seems pretty nice."

Callia rolled her eyes at her padawan's approach. "I'm a Jedi. I can't just go off with someone and you know, buy a house or whatever normal people do. Jedi _padawans_ on the other hand…" she trailed off.

"I love it how you change the subject so willingly," Felony said haughtily. "But as I am perfectly aware of the fact that Jedi, padawan or not, are not allowed to have relationships, I'm assuming that you don't think you're good enough for him."

Her master sighed. "I've known Quillan for many years now. He did love someone once, but she was killed in battle. He was never the same since." she looked up. "He's my best friend. I only have his best interests at heart."

This new mood surprised the girl. She didn't know that the subject was so touchy. She left it for now. Only time would tell.

—

She opened the door to Felony's room for the millionth time. She felt sorry for the girl, having to spend all her time indoors, cooped up like a caged bird. She lay on the floor on her stomach now, staring out the window, watching the air traffic with an air of infinite boredom.

She sighed as she heard Callia approach, resting her head in her hands. Every hour dragged out, seemingly never-ending. "I'm sick of this, Callia. I just sit here all day, doing nothing, just waiting for you to come around." she looked up at the woman with sad eyes.

Callia smiled softly and sat down beside her. "I know." she paused to glance out the window as well before putting her gaze on Felony once more. "But I don't want you to get hurt, Princess. If you won't promise me to keep yourself safe, then I can't do anything to help."

The young padawan looked away. After a few seconds of silence, she mumbled distractedly, "There are other ways I could do it, you know." The words gripped Callia. "All this time alone has given me room to think."

Callia didn't like where this was going. She forced out a sentence. "What do you mean?"

Felony sat up carefully and pointed up to the lights. She kept her finger there until Callia got the message, then to the pillow on the bed, then to the ventilation system.

Callia looked to her apprentice. _Why didn't you go ahead with it, then?_ She looked into Felony's eyes, emerald and clear. She understood. For a moment she was that girl hanging from the railing once more; horrified, desperate, and scared.

There they were on the floor, master and padawan, trying to figure one another out. It was the younger who first broke the silence. "Do you want me to live in a white room with padded walls, Callia?" her voice was soft. "What use will that be? What sort of _existence_ would that be?"

Callia opened her mouth. _What do you want me to do?_ "What are you going to do, then?"

Felony considered this. Her gaze grew soft. "You are my master. I will serve you until I die."

Her master certainly wasn't expecting this. _She's pledging herself to me? To the_ Republic _? Is this the same girl that I met two weeks ago?_ She stuttered. "I-I… will you?" she improvised lamely.

Felony gave a weak smile. "I'm too scared to do anything else."

Much to her padawan's surprise, Callia laughed. It was a warm sound. She leaned over and ruffled Felony's hair. _I don't want to see you hurt yourself. You'll do great things, Fel, if only you let yourself._

They were silent for a few moments as the mood softened.

"No one's ever cared so much for me, Callia." Felony told her eventually. "The compassion you have shown me over the past few weeks surpasses any and all that I thought the universe was capable of. You show me kindness even though I don't. Every day. And I know I may not say it, but… I don't know what I'd do without you."

Callia was shocked again. _She's full of surprises, isn't she?_ But she smiled.

She'd obviously done _something_ right.

—

It had been six weeks. Six weeks since she'd seen Elris. Three since she'd heard from him. And she was worried.

They'd received a transmission from Jasmine three hours ago, that they were on their way home, about to make the jump to hyper-space. Three hours ago, and they hadn't arrived. Callia's master had confined the sixteen-year-old to her room to stop her from pestering the Council to find out whether or not Elris was back yet. So instead she sat in her room, slowly destroying an apple with a lone butterknife she'd found in a drawer.

Didn't she deserve to be there? He was her best friend—the pair had grown up together, fought together, broken rules together. In fact, the pair spent more time getting in trouble as children then they did training. She should be down there, waiting. He would be - Callia knew he would. He wouldn't let Jasmine lock him up.

Just as she made her mind up to find a way down to the landing bay, her door slid open to reveal Master Woodrige, who gave the anxious girl a small smile, "They're back." she said.

Callia made to run out the door, but her master stopped her, "Callia, I warn you—whatever happens, you cannot let it go to your head. It is your training that matters the most here, not the life of your childhood best friend."

Callia stared up at her master's stern face with look of shock, wide-eyed. She blinked as she processed the words. _Life of your childhood best friend._

In a flash she was out the door, pushing past any and all people who were walking through the corridors. Breaking into a run, Callia shoved the final person out of the way as she reached the landing bay, where Jasmine was just leaving. She skidded to a halt in front of the Jedi Master,

"Where…?" She asked the woman, not bothering to finish her question. She knew it already.

"Med bay." she said, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder, "Callia, I'm sorry but he—"

"Don't." Callia said, taking a few steps back, tears pooling in her eyes, "He's not. He can't be." Turning away from Jasmine, she ran back the way she came, feet pounding on the tiles.

Reaching the med bay, she shoved open the doors and ran forward to the only occupied bed.

He was asleep – or unconscious, Callia was never good at telling the difference. His body was covered in a white sheet, his head resting on one of those uncomfortable excuses for a pillow. Bandages were wrapped around the crown of his head and his wrist, and Callia was sure that if she were to lift the sheet, she would find at least one more ligament covered in the stiff white cloth. His skin was a deathly pale, contrasting greatly with the blood that had dried in a line down his face.

It hurt to even look at him.

"Oh god, no." She breathed out, before racing over to the bed, collapsing beside him, hot tears prickling behind her eyes. Wrapping her hands around his, she squeezed it gently, praying for a response. It didn't matter if it was just him squeezing her hand back, anything to show that he wasn't as helpless as he really was.

She got none.

The tears she'd been holding back began to slowly trickle down her cheeks, "Elris… come on, it's me, Callia! Your best friend! Please answer me – please! Don't leave me, please!" As her words began to fade out, she let her head fall gently on to his chest as she sobbed, feeling more emotion than she had ever felt in her whole life.

"Don't you _dare_ die on me Elris Quillan. Wake up!" She whacked his chest, not noticing the slight exhale of breath as she did through her tears, "If you die on me you big stupid idiot, I'll kill you." She whispered as she fell back to rest her head on his chest, tears slowly dribbling down her cheeks.

"You can't kill me if I'm already dead, genius," a weak voice murmured.

Callia's head shot up, and in a flash her arms were around his neck and she was sobbing fresh tears of happiness.

"Elris! Oh my god you big stupid idiot don't you ever, _ever_ do that to me again, you hear!" She exclaimed.

"Wasn't planning on it," he muttered, his words taking more effort than they ever should have.

Callia sat next to his bed for hours longer, until the nurse told her that he needed rest. She stayed by his side even when he drifted off to sleep, which was shallow and painful. She simply stared at his scarred face for long periods of time, losing track of all time. Not noticing when Jasmine rushed in to see her padawan. Not even when her own master was notified.

She was perfectly happy then and there, because even for his horrific injuries, Elris was alive. And that's was what counted.

—

"Shall we go get some lunch, Princess?"

Felony nodded and followed the Jedi Master out the door. She glanced around for troopers but found none. She looked forward again to see that Callia had glanced back towards her and smiled.

The padawan returned the smile. _She trusts me._

Again she had to be forced to sit next to Kieran. Callia didn't seem to be giving up just yet.

Being served meals inside her room had driven her crazy for days. It was nice to be outside, even if this version of it was still technically inside the building. They tended to be salads and things, of which she had no objection to, but a bit of variety wouldn't have hurt.

She spied meat in the meal and picked at the food with sudden distaste.

Callia sighed. "What's wrong with it this time, Princess?"

"Nothing, nothing." Felony assured her master. She continued in a lower tone, "Just, I'm… a vegetarian." She had gathered up a list of things that her father hated. A lack of meat in any diet was a small thing among many that she had taken up to spite him and to get his attention. She saw no reason in taking up a more balanced intake, and besides the smell made her feel queasy now.

The woman let out a laugh. "I never thought I'd see the day when a Sith said they were vegetarian."

Elris and Kieran glanced over to Felony. She pushed the plate away, put off. "I think I'll stick to the salad." she muttered.

—

The next day, Callia stood outside Den'an's chambers where she and her padawan were expected to be. Felony was supposed to be there half an hour ago, but she wasn't. A group of troopers had already been sent out to look for the girl. _Where can she be?_

Felony had been avoiding Callia the whole morning. She had left her apartment with her new-found privileges (Callia had left the door unlocked) and had trudged all the way back to that same balcony that she had tried to jump off of almost a month previous. She looked over the railing once more, almost in slow-motion. No, she wasn't about to jump. Just the thought of it made her shiver.

She lowered herself to the floor and sat there. It was nice here, to be out of her room for once. The wind flowed through her hair and she closed her eyes. She took out a tatty old notebook she had found in the dark recesses of the cupboards whilst searching the room for anything interesting. She had already scribbled in a few things, and now as she flicked through, she began to write on a free page. She supposed this made it a diary of sorts - but she wouldn't dare show it to anyone, let alone Callia.

Felony heard distant footfall from down the corridor. She pushed herself from the ground, not knowing where to go. Callia had found her. No one else walked around these parts. She gathered her belongings and ran. She wasn't sure at all where she was going, and as the twists and turns went deeper into the building, she realised with horror that she was lost. She slowed her pace and instead wandered along, hoping that she would find somewhere that looked vaguely familiar. She found such a corridor, and decided that wherever it led, it was certainly going to be better than where she was.

Unfortunately, this was the hall that led to Den'an's chambers.

"Where _have_ you been?" it was the annoyed voice of Callia. Felony halted. There was a look of relief across her master's face as if to say, _Thank goodness you're safe_. "You were supposed to be here _forty-five_ minutes ago. My patience was about to run thin, Princess."

"I…"

"Well?" when Felony didn't reply, she sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. Just don't stand there like a blubbering fish, clean yourself up!"

Felony frowned. She _wasn't_ exactly clean, but then again, neither had the floor. "I look fine enough for Den'an, thank you very much. Do you expect me to _dress up_ or something?" she pulled her fingerless gloves on tighter as they walked into the room.

"I expect you to look presentable, not covered in dust and grime," Callia muttered. She winced at the glares she received from Elris, who mouthed at her something that looked like, _Forty-five minutes!_ She chuckled nervously before they stood beside him.

"Master Corday! Why are you and your padawan so late?" Den'an called to them. She closed her eyes in annoyance before opening them again in case she sent the wrong message to him.

"It's my fault, Den'an. Don't blame a master for the laziness of her padawan."

This was Felony. All the eyes in the room turned once more to the girl, but this time saw someone very different. She held determination in her eyes rather than hatred, and her stance was proud, not defeated.

Den'an sat, watching the pair with interest. Someone had evidently found her some clothing to replace the rather dreary Sith gear she had been wearing. Now she wore a rather pretty dress that suited her well, but Den'an didn't approve. It was a far cry from the robes he preferred. He also noticed that the scars she had borne weeks previous had healed well, but the cut over her eye was still strikingly raw.

"You dare address me with such brazen foolishness, padawan?"

Callia pushed forward. "It won't happen again, Master." she pulled Felony back.

"Well, I _was_ going to congratulate you on a job well done, Master Corday, but it seems you still have a while to go." he said pointedly with that same amusement lacing his tone.

"Yes, well,' Callia started, annoyed. "I'm honoured to be given a challenge of this… difficulty." she glared at Felony.

Den'an ignored this, and continued on. "Also, I'd like to welcome back Master Quillan and his new apprentice, Padawan Kieran N'dour." The audience's polite gaze moved to the pair.

Kieran proceeded to tell the gathering about himself, and one word flashed across Felony's mind: _boring_.

—

When the meeting was over, Callia turned and practically ran out the door, avoiding Elris, who followed her, probably to pester her with questions on why they had been so late, why she didn't have better control over her padawan, etcetera. Hearing his footsteps, she swore under her breath and sped up. He was _not_ going to get to her this time. Felony walked beside her, keeping pace with her master.

Elris caught up with her and swung her around by the arm. "Callia," he began. She stopped and so did her padawan.

"Won't you _ever_ leave me alone, Quillan?" she exclaimed, ripping her arm out of his grasp. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes pierced his own. "Yes, Felony was late and yes, I should have better control over my padawan and yes, we shouldn't have been rude to the gathering! I know all those things because every time I make one tiny, _miniscule_ mistake you take the bloody mickey out of me! So could you _just_ , for _once_ in your life, spare me the questions and leave me the fuck alone!" she yelled, storming off down the corridor. Felony glanced from her to Elris in shock before running off after her.

Elris stared off into the distance, frozen to the spot. His padawan came up behind him. "What was that all about, master?"

The Jedi shook his head ever so slightly. "I don't know, Kieran, I don't know." he sighed, knowing fully well that he _did_ know what Callia was saying was true. He just didn't want to admit it, and frankly, he never thought she would ever feel so angry about it that she had to bring it up. He sighed again.

Meanwhile, the woman in question stormed down the corridor towards her room, her padawan on her heels. She was muttering to herself about how _men always need to know everything_ and _they always think they're right_. She was aware of the girl's presence, but honestly, as long as it wasn't Elris or his apprentice, she didn't care.

"Callia," Felony said in a reasonable voice. "Callia! Stop." They both stopped in their tracks and she approached her master. "Elris was just worried. We could have got into serious trouble back there. He has a right to be concerned. _He has your best interests at heart._ " she quoted her.

"Best interest?" Callia scoffed. "It's his insane pride of his so-called _friends_ keeping up their reputation so he can keep his. He doesn't care about my _best interests_." she turned away, arms folded. "He never has." The hurt was evident in her voice.

"But…" Felony paused. "You two have always been best friends, right? You told me so yourself."

"Oh, I don't know, Fel!' Callia turned around again, confusion and despair written all over her face. "I mean, I grew up with him. I know his weakness and his strengths, I've seen him at his best and I've seen him at his worst and yet he knows the same stuff about me! He knows when I'm lying, upset, angry, happy – heck, he knows… everything, about me. And that scares me! And when he starts telling me off like that, like I'm some child, I just feel so guilty! Because I know he's right and I should listen to him but do I? No. I just keep on going, stupid, stubborn, alone, terrified me. And -"

"Shh," Felony gently took Callia's hands. The Sith's fingers were as cold as ice. "Sometimes we need someone like that. Someone who knows our strengths, and our faults, in equal parts. Someone who knows all this, and yet understands it well enough to know us. To criticise us when we fail. Because if we don't accept this criticism, then we _do_ have a fault. Don't be afraid of it, Callia. Because you need him," she smiled. "And he needs you."

Callia's eyes were wide. _Since when was_ she _an expert on relationships?_ "I don't know what you're talking about. Explain it."

Felony sighed and walked past her master, down the corridor. She heard Callia following her as she turned and led the Jedi Master to her room.

She steered Callia to a chair before putting the kettle on to boil. She came back and sat on the chair opposite. "Callia. I may not be an expert on love, as afore mentioned," she coughed. "But I know that a life without love is no life at all." Felony reached over and took Callia's hand. "And someone once told me that life is worth living." She sighed. "I know… I know you said that Elris' lover died a few years ago. But perhaps it's just that. _A few years ago_. Perhaps it's time for him to move on. Perhaps it is time he found happiness once more."

"In _me_?" She replied like it was the most impossible thing in the world, then she looked down at her shoes, "He doesn't love me, Fel. And even if he did, nothing could happen! It's against the order of the Council! Forbidden! Completely, and utterly… forbidden…" She sighed and blinked away the unwanted tears. She didn't understand the prickling behind her eyelids—she knew it meant tears, but she didn't understand why she was crying. It shouldn't hurt her this much that he could never love her. That he never would.

Felony smiled a knowing, somewhat evil smile. "Oh, but that makes it all the more fun. Did you see it ever stopping me?" she giggled before turning back to her. Her face grew serious once more, but she was interrupted by the sound of the kettle whistling. She got up and took it off the stove. "Milk, no sugar?" she asked, taking out cups.

"Milk, no sugar." Callia repeated, nodding. She sat down on a chair letting out a long sigh.

Felony nodded and came back a few minutes later with two cups. Callia sniffed and took the cup gratefully. Blowing on the steaming liquid she took a small sip and remained silent.

"If he knows what's good for him, then he'll do the right thing." Felony told her.

Callia raised her eyebrow, "You dare lay a finger on him…" She let the threat hang in the air, taking another sip.

Felony shrugged noncommittally. "I didn't say I was going to,"

Callia eyed Felony warily but let the subject drop. She didn't want to talk about it anymore.

—

"You listen here, Quillan, and you listen good." Felony had the man cornered after she went looking for him post talking with her master. "If you hurt Callia, then you'll have _me_ to answer to, got it?" she fingered the top of her lightsaber hilt threateningly. Her master had eventually given the girl a proper lightsaber of her own. If she was going to defend the Republic like she had said she would, she would be needing a weapon to help.

Elris was ready for a fight any time of course, but Callia would kill him if he ended up slicing a limb off her apprentice. _Would_ the Sith try anything? He didn't know. He didn't trust her. Then again, nobody did, except perhaps her master.

"Do you understand?" she hissed next to his ear. He narrowed his eyes at her. She took it as a yes and backed off.

"Ah, Princess, there you are." Callia walked towards them and shot a glance to Elris. "Drill me while we walk, I need a coffee."

Felony kept to the back of the group, but gave Elris a warning glance.

He came up behind Callia and took her arm gently. "Callia, wait," he said softly.

She slowed, "Wait, you aren't going to pound me into the ground with questions?" She glanced away and murmured, "Well that's a first."

"Please, Callia," Elris began. "I'm sorry about earlier. And… I'm sorry if my attitude offends you in any way," he looked into her eyes.

Callia's eyes softened, "S'okay. You were just doing your job as protective best friend." She took his hand and smiled.

His face fell the tiniest bit at 'friend', but he recovered and accepted her hand. "Thank you,"

Callia noticed the whole 'face-falling' business, but put it down to her not being mad and starting a, what he called, 'a battle of wits', and kept walking down the hall.

She took on a lighter tone as she noticed Kieran walking behind his master and then joining Felony.

"How's Kieran?" she hissed to Elris. "Is the plan working?"

"Hard to say," he told her. "Although I think some of my messages are starting to work."

Callia frowned. This was turning out to be harder than she thought. "You're having better luck than me. She doesn't exactly enjoy his company."

"Or at least doesn't show it," Elris gave her a sly look.

"I like your thinking, Quillan."

—

Felony fiddled with her hair.

"So, I've heard you'll be training with us tomorrow." this was Kieran trying to talk again.

"Mmm," she agreed without conviction. Perhaps if she didn't hold up her end of the conversation, he would drop it. No such luck.

"I think that's the plan, anyway. Master Elris has been very vague about the whole thing." he continued.

Felony didn't reply. She glanced up as Elris and Callia returned with drinks. Her master passed her a cup. "Discuss anything interesting while we were gone?"

The girl sniffed nonchalantly. "Not particularly."

"What, nothing? Not even the _combined training session_ tomorrow?" Callia gave the teenagers a sly smile.

Felony sighed in annoyance. "I knew you couldn't resist meddling, the pair of you." She swirled her drink around, staring off into the distance with stony eyes.

Elris and Callia exchanged glances before laughing. "What, us, meddling?" she shook her head. "Now _that's_ ridiculous." However, the padawan's next words wiped the smile off her face.

"You honestly expect me to believe that?" she continued in a scathing voice. "You're not saying those things because you know I like him. You have every knowledge that I think he's the most _dull_ being on the planet." she spoke as if Kieran wasn't even there. "Now, my padawan and your padawan! Wouldn't that be fun? And your only defence is that you two are so besotted with each other and this one here," – she motioned to Elris – "is so useless at love he simply didn't know what else to do."

The pair froze at the girl's words. Callia had only let her feelings slip before because she knew, well, she _thought_ she could trust Felony not to use her feelings against her. Turned out she was wrong.

Picking up her cup, she stood, chair scraping against the floor, "Thank you for that… _preposterous_ idea, Felony," Callia said coldly, "But I think I must be going. You know the way back to your room." And with that she turned and left, blinking rapidly to try and erase the tears she could feel prickling behind her eyes.

Felony wanted to take the words back, instantly regretting what she had said. "Wait, Callia, I didn't mean…!" she called off after the Jedi, but she was gone. She saw Elris go off after her. The girl put her head in her hands.

She felt a pair of eyes trained on her. She looked up to see Kieran, silently staring. "Is that really what you think of me?" he said, hurt.

 _Oh great. Just what I need. Now everyone has a reason to hate me._ "No, Kieran, I just meant—"

He stood up. "No. I know what you meant. _The most dull being on the planet_." he shook his head in disgust. "Thanks a lot, Sith." He walked out.

Felony groaned, putting her head on the table and whacking it a few times for good measure.


	3. Sparks

**Part Three—Sparks**

Felony had been working all night. The security here was more advanced than she thought it would be. This called for something with a bit more oomph.

She had to build it all from scratch because of course she didn't have any of her old projects with her. Years of work had been lost, including her first AI that she had spent so much effort on. But she just had to grin and bear it.

She had heard murmurs from people in the cantina.

 _"Ooh, look, it's Callia's apprentice."_

 _"Hear she's doing a rubbish job at it. The girl can't do a thing!"_

 _"Useless."_

Everyone knew that Callia hadn't really been given Felony to teach seriously. Den'an was having a bit of a laugh, and everyone else was laughing too. It was an impossible task.

Now she was going out to prove that she _wasn't_ useless. Felony used the only thing she was notably good at; coding. _I'll show them. Callia_ is _a wonderful master._ She smiled as she imagined the remarks of _Wow, she's so lucky to have that girl as a padawan_ and _I'd love to have Callia as my master_.

Once she broke through the security she'd attract some attention. Everyone would be amazed at the girl who seemed she was going to amount to nothing suddenly broke through one of the most advanced anti-hacker systems in the galaxy.

She added another line to the string of code.

 _Useless? I'll show them._

—

"Callia, Master Den''an has arranged a meeting with you. He says it's important." Elris said once she had answered the door. She was once again in Felony's room. She nodded and stood up, straightening her robes. She almost reached out for his hand, but stopped herself. _Not in front of Fel._ The girl followed her master to the door.

Elris looked at Felony apologetically. "Sorry, Felony. Den'an was very specific. You can't come."

Callia blinked in confusion, then sighed and nodded at Felony to listen.

Felony folded her arms. "Right. Well, I didn't want to see him anyway." she said pointedly, even though this was true. She _wanted_ to come, now she was told she couldn't.

Callia left with Elris. "Any idea what this is about?" she asked him on the way there. His only reply was a shrug.

They reached his chambers. Obviously the room had been set up a little differently, with his regular seat turned towards another. Elris waited outside for her.

"Ah, good," he acknowledged Callia's presence. "Please, sit down."

She did so. "What is it, Master?"

He leaned back in his chair. "It's about the Sith girl."

She was worried instantly. "What. What has she done now?"

He gave a laugh in his ever-present sense of humour that only he seemed to get. "She's a bit of a trouble-maker, isn't she just?"

Callia was losing her patience. "Just tell me what she did."

He glanced at her as if to say, _Keep your hair on_. "She's been attempting to hack our security system. Doing rather well, I'm surprised to say."

Her blood ran cold. "I told her not to go looking for trouble. I _told_ her!"

Den'an looked at her. _You poor, poor child. Did you really think I gave you this mission so you could succeed?_ "Let's be honest with ourselves, Callia," he leaned in like he was having a mock serious conversation with a toddler. "It's not as if she _wants_ to be taught, is it? Hmm?"

Callia sighed and put her head in her hands. Sometimes she really wished she'd had nothing to do with the girl.

The older Jedi seemed to be satisfied with this response. He nodded to her and leaned back in his chair. "Oh, and don't breathe a word of this to her. She's only looking for attention. Don't give it to her."

She looked up, thinking there was more to what he was saying.

"She'll be able to explain herself at the trial." he added.

"Trial!" Callia exclaimed, her head leaving her hands for the second time in five minutes, "What are you doing putting her on trial!? She's been through enough shit already!"

"This is a serious security breach, Master Callia," he said firmly. "I know you feel very protective of this girl but sometimes she needs to face the consequences her own actions." He stood up, signalling the conversation was over.

Callia stood up, a defiant look on her face. "Look, Master. I understand where you're coming from and how you can think it's for the wrong purposes, but trust me. Felony's doesn't go around doing stupid things without a good reason. So if you'll excuse me, I have to go explain to my padawan why the assembly thinks she's a _criminal_." And with that, she stalked off, muttering curses under her breath.

"Don't make excuses for her, Master Corday!" he yelled after her. "You'll only do yourself a disfavour!" He was quite enjoying this.

Callia ignored him, picking up the pace as she stormed off. "Disfavour my arse. Pretty sure I already caused myself a 'disfavour' by agreeing to teach her." she muttered under her breath.

—

Felony hid her diary as Callia stormed in. "Anything wrong?" she questioned, even though something was obviously up. _Oh dear. Was I detected that easily? I haven't even finished breaking the main defences yet!_

Callia rounded on her. "You went and tried to hack the archives! How could you be so _stupid_?"

Felony opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Eventually she muttered, "So you know about that?"

" _Know_? They've put you on kriffing _trial_ \- that's how I know!" Callia shook her head. "You need to stop getting yourself into trouble. You're skating on thin ice as it is. What you don't want now is for it to start cracking."

"What happens then, huh?" Her padawan faced her, eye-to-eye. "I get kicked off the team?"

"You get placed in a high-security prison cell, or they say nothing and send you on a solo mission so dangerous that it's almost 100% you don't come back."

Felony looked away.

Her master made her face her. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Felony Serano! It will _not_ help your track record if you get arrested or something because of this."

"I was a Sith; how bad can my track record get?" Felony scoffed. "Nobody will ever trust me, and frankly, I don't care what they think about me.'

"Well, you should. They can do terrible things to you – no matter how nice they appear to be."

Felony flicked her hair. "They didn't seem that way when I attempted suicide,"

Callia's eyes flicked to the ground, her gaze softening. Her padawan regretted bringing it up.

She sighed. "I suppose you're right. The system here is that the master takes responsibility for the padawan's actions. And I don't want…"

Callia's tone was softer now. "Well, yes, I'd rather not be shoved in jail because you were irresponsible, but you still have to be more careful, Felony. They can be ruthless – well, some of them can. You've met Den'an."

"Well, then I'll have to point out the obvious fact that it was _me_ who typed in the codes, _me_ who clicked send and _me_ whose idea it was in the first place. If I get this wrong then it'll be me who gets thrown into the cell, not you. Because your only wrongdoing was letting me live."

Callia raised her eyebrow, "What did I do?" She asked, feigning innocence.

Felony smiled. "You Callia Corday, saved my life."

Callia rolled her eyes, "And since when was saving someone's life a crime?"

"When that person you save is the enemy."

—

She knew what was coming. She just thought that a trial was a bit too much. All the same, she knew they'd let her off once they realised what an advanced technique she had used.

"Padawan K'tani," a man next to Den'an began. "Did you, or did you not, hack the security systems of the Jedi Order? How do you plead?"

Den'an smirked at Felony. She returned it. The girl was about to reply when her master interrupted.

"Masters, is this really necessary?" She received glares from the rest of the group, but the leader kept his gaze trained on the padawan. "I mean, it's not as if she meant any harm!" Her outcry was mainly ignored.

One by one, the eyes returned to the senior Jedi and the rebellious padawan. The air crackled like wildfire between them.

"You think yourself above the law, Felony K'tani?"

Felony's smirk grew. _The law doesn't even know my name_. "Of course not, Den'an. Although on this subject I think you know perfectly well that I am above _you_."

The audience watched as if they were following the ball at a tennis match, backwards and forwards.

Den'an was silent, but his smile told her that he wasn't done talking yet. He reached out to a small table and poured himself a glass of wine from a decanter. "I must admit," he took a sip. "What you did was genius."

"Guilty as charged." Felony replied, just as smoothly.

 _I hope you know what you're doing._ Callia watched on nervously.

"What I don't understand, however," he continued thoughtfully. "Is how you thought you were going to get this information back to Serano without being noticed?"

Felony's smile faded. Her playful attitude suddenly turned sour. " _Excuse_ me? That's what you think this is about?"

Den'an blinked calmly. "It _is_ a possibility. Whether you did or not is irrelevant, however, because your actions still weren't _legal_."

Felony was incredulous. "Well of course they weren't _legal_! I mean, honestly, you thought you'd take me up in your loving arms and I would be converted into a law-abiding citizen?"

He continued to smile. That smile turned into a grin. Then he laughed.

" _What_ is so funny?"

"You," he pointed to her, trying not to spill his drink in the process. He roared away with laughter and seemed to show no signs of stopping.

"What?" Felony snapped.

"You think that this was all serious, don't you?" he wiped away tears of mirth. "You think you were apprenticed, because I thought you were going to _achieve_ something?"

Felony felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She glanced backwards but Callia only gave her a helpless look.

She didn't know what to respond with. A mixture of anger, bewilderment and utter embarrassment rose inside of her. _I didn't think he'd ever say it out loud._ She took a breath, but he was still laughing. "Shut up! Shut up right now!" He didn't, not to her surprise. "I bloody well went and changed my whole life and what do I get in return? Not the slightest bit of respect or even the courtesy to take me seriously. Are you even _listening_?"

Callia walked forward and grabbed Felony's arm with such ferocity that it hurt.

"Get _off_ of me, Callia!" Felony hissed.

"We'll be leaving, masters. Thank you for your time. I must talk some sense into my padawan." She dragged the girl out of the room. She took her around the corner and shoved her against the wall by her shoulders. "What the _hell_ were you thinking? Do you want to give them another reason to lock you up?" Despite her usual nature, Callia was seething.

Felony looked away.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, girl!"

The young padawan heard the threat in Callia's voice and turned to her.

"Den'an is fickle, hypocritical and extremely judgemental. You should know that best of all." Callia gritted her teeth.

Felony's previous anger had settled down into a compacted sense of pure annoyance. She _hated_ that man. "Well, perhaps it's about time that changed." She pushed Callia away and took off towards the doors again.

But Callia wouldn't let her get away that easily. She grabbed her padawan again, slamming her against the wall. Felony looked up, a hint of fear in her eyes. "Callia…"

"Shut up, Felony. If you're not going to take care of yourself, then I'm going to have to." Callia shook her head in a mixture of dismay and disgust. She brought out a pair of cuffs and clipped them onto both her own and Felony's wrists.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving your arse." She walked forward, resistance from Felony biting into her skin. But she didn't care. She just had to get this girl out of here.

She heard her padawan wince audibly in pain, although she knew it would be more if she let her go through with this.

—

"Pack your most important belongings in a suitcase," Callia instructed her padawan before turning to the door. Changing the security settings, she made sure that only she could get in and out of the room. "Do _not_ leave this room. I'll be back."

She then unlocked the cuffs and left Felony to her own devices.

Stalking along the corridor, Callia banged her fist on Elris' door. When it didn't open straight away, she banged on it again, yelling, "You get out here right now Elris Quillan! I have five minutes to explain to you what's going on before I have to leave, so if you don't get your lazy arse out here-"

Elris opened the door. "What? What? What is it? Callia – calm. Down." He put his hands on her shoulders. "What was all that shouting about?"

"Felony's-made-Den'an-really-really-mad-and-now-we-have-to-leave-because-they'll-probably-try-to-kill-her-and-me-and-I-don't-want-to-die-so-I've-come-to-say-goobye." Callia said quickly, wanting to get it over and done with, and began running away, before she stopped, ran back and quickly pressed her lips to his, just for a moment. "Goodbye." She murmured, before turning and running in a full on sprint back to her room, never getting to see his reaction.

Felony looked up as Callia walked in and grabbed her padawan once more. "Callia! Tell me where we're going!"

"Away. As far away as we can get. Somewhere where no one would think to look." Callia thought for a moment, "Somewhere like…" she allowed herself a small smile as she said the next words, "Tatooine."

She pushed Felony in front of her, the girl holding her belongings, and they walked at a brisk pace to the hangar.

"Callia, surely they wouldn't…? You can't mean that they would actually come after us, just because of what I said?" Felony said to her master as she selected a ship.

Callia grabbed her wrist and pulled her up the ramp of a smaller craft. Once they were safely seated, master in the pilot's chair, padawan in the co-pilot's, she responded. "Never underestimate them, Felony." She then concentrated on manuvering the ship out of the hangar. She decided not to mention that there was one person on the Council who might actually expect her to go there. But he wouldn't want her killed. At least, she thought he didn't.

"Callia, what about… what about Elris?" Felony asked gently.

"What about him?"

"Well…" Felony began. "You, you… I don't know, just, never mind."

As they lifted off, Callia allowed herself one final glance down at the place she had called home for most of her life, and caught a glimpse of two figures running out on to the platform where they had just taken off from. As she felt a single tear roll down her face, she murmured softly so Felony wouldn't hear, "I'm sorry."

Was she flying away for Felony's sake? Of course she was. But now she could never be with Elris, just how it should have been all along.

Then she flew away from the building and left behind that life for good.

—

Felony stared out the window. She sighed. "I screwed up real bad this time, didn't I?"

"We both did." Callia replied flatly, not taking her eyes from the sky around them.

Felony avoided her master's eyes. "I shouldn't have shouted at them like that," she said in the smallest voice. "Although they deserved it. They damn well need to be taught a lesson if you ask me. They're all for saving the universe but when it comes down to it, they're as bad as my father." she looked at Callia quickly. "And don't you dare say that they're not. They may not act on them, but the same feelings are there."

"Well, considering the fact that we're now fugitives of _both_ sides, I'm going to remain impartial." Callia replied, eyes not moving from the sky ahead, "Because there's no way I'm joining the Dark Side, but I'm not going back to the Jedi. Not now. They'll jail both of us."

"Why? Because your padawan spoke her mind?"

"The moment you opened your mouth you became a criminal – you could see it in their eyes. And, the moment I dragged you out of there, I became an associate to a criminal. Punishable by life imprisonment."

Felony thought this was a little drastic. _You were all happy happy when I first met you. What changed?_

"Any Jedi who can complete the impossible task of training a _me_ deserves more than that." Felony smiled weakly. "Den'an may not have meant it, and you probably knew that," - Callia sighed at this point - "But you tried your hardest anyway."

At her words, Callia glanced back at Felony, eyes full of tears and said, "You do realize that I didn't have a choice about that? If he knew I wasn't trying then he'd have some sort of humiliation in line for me." She gave a watery chuckle as she turned back to the front, "It doesn't matter anyways. I sealed our fate by stealing this plane."

Felony glanced incredulously at her master. "You _stole_ this ship," she closed her eyes. "Callia, please tell me that isn't true. You didn't steal the ship."

Callia managed to blink the tears away. "Well they don't exactly give Jedi's ships, Fel. You either gotta buy 'em, or earn 'em. And I have done neither." she sniffled a little.

"You're telling me that in the process of running from one crime, we inadvertently create another one?" Felony rubbed her head. "That doesn't just make you an _associate_ of a criminal, you do realise?"

"Hey – they never got mad at me before when I borrowed a ship!" Callia defended.

"That's before you got saddled with a Sith for a padawan," Felony pointed out.

"Princess, I borrowed planes _before_ you were assigned to me. Honestly, they may not even notice I've taken it."

"Considering they would have most likely figured out by now that one of their Jedi's is on the run, they'll probably check these sorts of things," Felony said with slight sarcasm before brightening up. "Well, if we're being treated like criminals…" she turned fully to Callia. "We could… not join the Dark Side, but work with them… Callia, what if we could influence my father's decisions? What if... what if you work beside me? I know, well, obviously it would take a lot of convincing on my part, but…There are so many things we could achieve, so many lives we could save-"

"No." Callia cut her off sternly, "We may be criminals in Den'an's eyes, but I'm still a Jedi. I was raised a Jedi, trained as a Jedi and fought as a Jedi and under _no_ circumstances am I letting one incident turn me astray." She flicked a few switches around her, "I'm not joining the Sith, Felony, and nothing in this universe is ever going to make me."

Felony sighed. "But don't you get it, Callia? We could change the course of the Separatists. We could bring peace. I know you're a Jedi. But I'm a Sith. And I changed for the greater good."

"Felony, we're _not_ going to join the Sith – end. Of. Story. I don't care how much you think you can change them, I refuse to fight for a side I was raised to hate. Now I know that sounds prejudice," Callia continued quickly as Felony opened her mouth to interrupt, "But I know that they aren't the good ones here. And that's not just me being brainwashed from childhood – I _know_. They'll turn the Republic into one great big massive Empire and rule the galaxy by methods of terror and torment. That's why we're going to Tatooine. Its far away, out of reach of the Galactic Republic _and_ the Empire. _That's_ where we'll be safe."

"I used to be part of that thank you very much, and the way I see- the way I _saw_ it," Felony quickly corrected herself for Callia's sake, "That was what was the best thing. For everyone. With two opposing sides, one will never win. The everlasting war will continue, unless one side is wiped out. Or, a compromise is come to for both the Imperials and the Republicans."

"Which will never happen." Callia said with a tone of finality in her voice. Flicking a few more switches, "Hold on – we're about to jump to lightspeed."

Felony took this as Callia's polite way of telling her to shut up. She looked down at the control pad and held onto the arm of the chair.

—

The next few months on Tatooine consisted of running, scavenging and fighting for their lives. Living on the ship Callia had stolen, they hopped from town to town, port to port, buying and nicking food from market stalls, fighting off people who got in their way. Sooner or later though, their activity would be spotted by someone, somewhere, Callia was sure of it. But she didn't know where else to go that was outside of the reach of the Jedi, so they didn't leave.

But the Jedi came, just like she knew they would, with backup to apprehend them. And Callia was ready. Because if there was one thing she knew out of all the uncertainty, was that she was not going down without a fight.

The twin suns above the scorching planet burned ever brightly, baking the ground. Both sides waited for the other to make the first move. Callia and her apprentice stood together, ready to fall for their freedom. _So this is it. Fighting Jedi after all._ Her master's steady breathing was the only thing keeping her sane, its rhythmic sound calming. She swallowed as the silence was broken by the sound of a Jedi official. He was a kind-faced man but his words stung the air as the afternoon sunshine.

"Master Corday, you have been charged with providing aid to a fugitive and theft of Council property. You are hereby stripped of your status and your padawan."

Callia activated her lightsaber and stared back at the Jedi official with cold eyes, taking a step back and drawing herself up to her full height, something other than anger flashing in her eyes, "I don't think so."

He added in a lower voice, "Callia, please, stop this. If you try and fight us, the Council will show no mercy at all. If you surrender now, there might be a chance for you."

"That's funny." Callia said, her stance unchanging, "Because from what I can gather, you just offered me a way out, but you seem to have conveniently forgotten about Felony."

The man hesitated. "Well, you see… it's complicated Callia, you know that."

"No, no its not." Callia said, with a dangerous edge to her voice, "Why can't you see that?" Felony looked to her. She had never seen her master like this. She was giving up _everything_ for her.

"Callia… what are you doing?" she whimpered, but Callia pushed her away firmly.

He spoke as if the girl wasn't even there. "Let's be honest with ourselves, Callia. There really… isn't much of a future for K'tani with us. She's just not used to-"

" _Not used to_? You're all just fucking prejudice – a girl who was a Sith, but turned to the Light. She isn't a Sith – not anymore. And if you can't see that, then you might as well just shift off somewhere else and leave. Us. Alone."

He was taken aback but his voice suddenly became cold. "You're making a big mistake, Master Corday."

"I'm protecting the innocent, like every Jedi is supposed to. You, however," She sniffed, "Are arresting someone who has done nothing wrong."

"As much as it pains me to do this, Callia, you leave us no choice." He said.

Felony shoved Callia out of the way from behind. She walked right up to the man, her gaze flickering from one of his eyes to the other. "Leave Callia out of this. She's done nothing wrong. I'm the one you want. I don't have a future as a Jedi; you said it yourself. But she does." she hissed.

"Your loyalty is admirable, Felony, but I'm afraid your pleas will not help your master this time. You have been charged with assault of the High Jedi Council and assisting in the theft of Council property. Don't make it worse, girl."

"Assault?" Felony's voice was dangerously soft. "I'll show you _assault_ ," she activated her weapon.

The next moment, Callia was in close combat. Her lightsaber slashed down in a wide arc in front of her. If she'd stop to think, she would wonder what had brought her to this – brought her to fighting for her life against her own people, people she had _grown up_ with.

Felony struggled with another Jedi, her feeble moves no match for his expertise. She ducked under one of his swings, only to have his saber clash with another's who had attempted to do the same thing.

The two allies were slowly being drawn apart so they could no longer aid each other. Callia fought into the depths of the ship, her padawan moving further out into the open.

The Jedi Master now tried something she had never done before with her padawan - she reached out with the Force. _Felony. Get in the ship! We still have an opportunity to leave._

The words rang in her padawan's mind and she looked up in shock. With renewed energy, she attempted to get through. She ran, hunched, to the ship. She heard her name being yelled faintly. To her surprise, it was pitch black inside. Only the light of her weapon lit up the gloom.

"Felony!" Callia yelled into the darkness, now extremely worried for the girl. _She's on the ship, isn't she?_ When no one replied, she swung around, the light from her lightsaber illuminating some of the ship in front of her, but not much. There was still no sound from the girl. "Felony!"

Suddenly, from the darkness behind her, she heard the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber being drawn. Callia whirled around, just in time to see the bright blue blade of a Jedi flashing forward.

She was not fast enough, however, to stop the blade imbedding itself in her stomach.

"Callia?" Felony heard her master's voice. "Master! Where are you?" She ran further into the ship, towards the control room. "Callia!" she heard a dull thud just ahead of her. An azure lightsaber hovered just above the ground, but it moved away on her approach. She noticed a body below where the lightsaber had been. Crouching low, she felt soft hair and knew exactly who it was.

"Callia," Felony breathed, her eyes prickling with the beginnings of tears. She swallowed, feeling for her master's hand. She grasped it and held it up to her cheek. "Callia, wake up. No, you can't… Callia!" She swallowed, tears streaming down her face. "Callia!" She buried her face in her master's shoulder. "Don't leave me! _Callia_!" she screeched, laying down and hugging her. The next few minutes went past in a blur. The only thing in the world was her master's death, hanging over her head like a cloud of darkness. All she could do was cry and cry. "It's my fault, it's all my fault…" her whisper was punctuated by soft sobs. Her whole body racked with the tears that never stopped.

There was a sharp tug at her hair and her head was jerked backwards. Suddenly there was a vibroblade at her throat from the same man behind. The lightsaber was whisked from her hands using the Force. Tears stained her face and hair stuck to her cheeks.

His breathing was as loud as hers. "Surrender," he said simply. When she didn't reply, he took the blade away and she dropped to her knees, defeated.

—

Kieran N'dour went on to become a great Jedi. He stayed true to himself, and even though perhaps lacked conversational skills, he certainly possessed talent in battle, the Force, and philosophy.

He never saw the black haired girl again, nor did he feel he wanted to.

—

Felony Serano was arrested and held in a cell for some of the most unhappy days of her life. There she spent her seventeenth birthday, but it was just another few hours in the monotony that was now her life. With only her own thoughts for company, she promised herself that once she got the chance, she would redeem herself and carry on her master's legacy for the Republic.

She got that chance a month later, when she was taken to an Enclave on a small planet named Vornu. She never saw Kieran or Elris again.

—

Elris Quillan stood against the cool wall at the edge of the Council room. It had been months now since he had last heard from Callia, and he knew they were looking for her. A blue hologram flickered to life in the centre of the gathering. Little did he know, he was never to see Felony or Callia again.

"I bring news from Tatooine," the gentle voice was somehow loud in the quiet chambers. Elris's breath caught in his throat. "Master Callia Corday and her padawan Felony Serano were killed in battle two days ago…"

Elris stiffened, feeling Kieran do the same beside him. No, that couldn't be right. No… they must have gotten it wrong. Not his Callia. She had always been there. She couldn't just… die. Not like this.

"They resisted capture and General Oberno informs me that he had no other choice but to take them by force. But let us not remember them by recent events, but Callia by her skill and determination, and by Felony's undivided loyalty to her master until the very end."

Callia had risked everything for that girl. Everything for a _Sith_. Even him. And now it was all wasted. Everything was wasted; it didn't matter anymore.

Kieran looked at him, shaking his head slowly. _Don't let them know._

Den'an was staring intently at the two, and he chose his next words carefully. "I suggest you forget Master Corday, Quillan. Don't let it affect your performance at your next mission or in anything, for that matter."

Elris blinked, still not quite comprehending what had just been said. Letting an unemotional mask cover his face, he nodded stiffly, before standing and leaving the chamber. He had intended to head for his room, but he found his feet lead him astray. Slowly, he opened the door to Callia's apartment. It was the same as when she had left – the bed still half made, spare robe hanging over a chair, books lying strewn across the table. Heck, the roomed even smelled like her.

Suddenly, he found it was all too much. Leaning back against the shut door, he slid down it, silent tears beginning to slide down his cheeks as he sobbed. She was gone. Callia. His best friend. _His_ Callia. He loved her, and he never even got to tell her just how much. Now she was gone. Forever.

He would never see her again.

He didn't go to the funeral. Kieran did. Kieran told him later that they didn't mention why she had died, that it was their fault.

No one knew how much it hurt him. He would put on a brave face outside, smile and laugh when required, pretend to feel the emotion others did. But inside he was just an empty shell. It hurt too much for him to really feel anything else.

He could have done something. Gone with her, tried to find her, done something. Instead he stayed with the people who had killed her. The knowledge of what he'd never done, of his failure – the pain was killing him from the inside out.

But he never showed it. Never again did anyone know how much he hurt. Not even until his dying day, as he embraced the darkness, in hope of seeing her again.

As his life faded away, he realized what Callia had been talking about all those years ago when they were children. Everyone had a spark, a fire that drove them to do what they had to, but no one would ever know what their spark was until they lost it. And now he knew what it was.

A spark of life.


End file.
